Stopper for carboys, bottles, cans, and like containers



y 3, 1940. w. s. FREEMAN 2. 39

- STOPPER FOR CARBOYS, BOTTLES, CANS, AND LIKE CONTAINERS Filed April 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet.

"' INVENTOR W.S. FREEMAN ATTYS.

July 23, 1940. w 5 FREEMAN. 2,208,899

STOPPER FOP. CARBOYS, BOTTLES, CANS, AND LIKE CONTAINERS Filed April 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \NVENTOR WJS. FREEMAN ATTYS.

UNETE stares PATENT orrice STOPPER FOR GARBOYS, BOTTLES, CANS, AND LIKE CONTAINERS William Simon Freeman, Leeds, England Application April 22, 1938, Serial No. 203,704

In Great Britain April 24, 1937 i 7 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to stoppers for carboys, bottles,

cans and like containers, and has for one of its objects to provide a construction which will afford a perfect seal and at the same time offer other commercial advantages.

A principal object of the present invention is toprovide a stopper for a carboy,

like container, which stopper comprises a gripping bottle, can or portion to engage tightlythe mouth. of the container but affording a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing skirt attached to the said gripping portion and of such shape and dimensions as to be adapted to be folded into position in which it completes the mouth of the container.

and out of a sealing of the It will be appreciated that when the sealing skirt is in sealing position a perfect seal will be given, but when the sealing skirt is in a non-sealing position it will be possible for the contents of. the container to pass out of the pouring aperture.

Another object of the invention for the aforesaid perfect seal to be variety of ways adapted to different a tainer.

is to provide obtained in a forms of con- For a more complete understanding of the invention there will now be described,

by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, certain constructio nal forms of stopper according to the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not restricted to the precise constructional details set forth.

In these drawings container;

Figure 3 is a view correspondin of a modified construction;

g to Figure 1 Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 of another modified construction;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of another form of stopper assembled on a container and held in open position to expose the pouring aperture;

Figure 6 is a View correspondin of a different construction;

Figure 7 is a view correspondin showing the stopper assembled in position on a container;

Figure 8 is a cross-section o th Figure 6;

g to Figure l g to Figure 6 e line 8-8 of Figure 9 is a view corresponding to Figure 7 but showing a different form of stopper;

Figure 10 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but showing a different form of stopper;

Figure 11 is a view corresponding to Figurel butshowing a different form of stopper;

Figure 12 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but showing a different form of stopper, and

Figure 13 is a View corresponding to Figure '7 but showing a different form of stopper.

Like reference numerals indicate like throughout the drawings.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2, the upper end of. a container is shown at Ill. The stopper comprises a downwardly-extending skirt i l which in this construction has plain inner and outer faces and which is intended to grip the outer face of the rim 12 at the mouth of the container. It may be cemented in position if desired. The gripping portion II is attached to the base l3 of a sealing skirt M which is adapted to be folded down into the sealing position shown in Figure 2 and secured there by a sealing wire l5. As seen in Figure 1 the outer surface of the walls of the skirt M is straight in cross-section and this outer surface is conical, slightly converging in the direction away from the base 13. This construction enables a perfect seal to be obtained when the skirt I4 is folded down into the position shown in Figure 2 as it will be stretched by the rim l2 and/or the flaring of the neck of the container. This sealing wire is not essential, however, as the stopper is made of rubberor other resilient material which, because of its own resilience, will remain in the position shown in Figure2. The skirt H is only attached to the base it around a portion of its circumference, say about one-third. Throughout the remainder of the circumference it is unattached, thus affording a slit in which constitutes the pouring aperture. To expose this aperture the skirt I4 is turned up into theposition shown in Figure 1 andthe base i3 isthen pushed away from the mouth of the container, the base l3 being sufficiently flexible to permit of this. To facilitate the hinging movement of the base the latter is scored to form a groove I1 which joins the two ends of the slit Hi. When the skirt I4 is in sealing position it lies in close contact with the outer face of the skirt II and reaches beyond the latter to come into contact with the surface of the container. In this position the edge of the skirt ll aroundthe pouring aperture nests snugly into a concavity l8 in the basel3 as clearly seen in Figure 2, thus assisting in obtaining a perfect seal.

parts The construction shown in Figure 3 is similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2 except that around the edges of the pouring aperture the skirt H is formed with a groove IQ and the base |3 with a shoulder or lip 29 which lip and groove nest closely together when the parts are in sealing position.

The construction shown in Figure 4 is similar to that shown in Figure 1 except that the gripping portion of the stopper takes the forth of a plug 2| which is intended to engage tightly inside the mouth of a container, its gripping surface being serrated at 22. The base I3 in the construction shown in Figure 4 is provided with a groove, such as I! (Figure l), to facilitate the hinging movement when the pouring aperture is to be exposed.

Figure 5 shows a construction similar to that of Figure 4 when the sealing skirt l4 and base I3 have been moved into position to expose the pouring aperture. The gripping face of the plugZI in this figure is not serrated.

In the construction shown in Figures 6 to 8 the gripping portion of the stopper consists of a plug 2| whereof the gripping surface is serrated at 22. This plug, like the one shown in Figure 4, is tubular and has its lower end opening into the container so that any pressure developed in the latter will operate to force the walls of the plug outwardly and increase their grip upon the surface of the container. The upper end of the plug 2| in Figures 6 to 8 is partly closedby a flexible transverse wall 23.. The open part 24 is clearly seen in Figure 8 and this constitutes the pouring aperture. The wall 23 is connected to the base i3 of the sealing skirt M by a short solid neck 25.

The construction shown in Figure 9 is similar to the construction shown in Figures 6 to 8 except that the gripping surface of the plug 2| is plain, not serrated. This construction is particularly suitable for having the plug cemented to the container H].

The construction shown in Figure 10 is similar to that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4 except that the gripping portion 26 of the stopper is intended to serve either as a plug, in which case its face 21 will engage tightly in the interior of the mouth of a container, or as an outside skirt, in which case its serrated face 28 will engage tightly the outer face of the smaller mouth of a different container.

The construction shown in Figure 11 is in many respects similar to that shown in Figures 6 to 9 except that the gripping portion of the stopper is constituted by a solid plug 29 having a hole 30 through it to constitute the pouring aperture.

The construction shown in Figure 12 is similar to that shown in Figure 3 except that the gripping portion of the stopper takes the form of a play 3| to engage tightly inside the mouth of the container. This plug has anupper lip 32 intended to bear uponthe extremity of the container III. 7 I I V In the construction shownin Figure 13 the gripping portion of the stopper comprises a plug 2| and a gripping skirt 33, the'latter being somewhat similar to the skirt aforesaid. The pouring aperture 24 in this construction is similar to that shown in Figures 6 to 9. This construction affordsa double grip upon the mouth of the container.

In all of the constructions described aboveit will be seen that there is no need for the user to remove the stopper from the container and, therefore, there will be no likelihood-0f the stopper being lost but there is reasonable certainty that it will be returned to the manufacturer with the container, a point of considerable importance from the commercial aspect. Since the sealing skirt can be readily folded into and out of sealing position the user who only desires to abstract part of the contents of the container can readily return the sealing skirt to sealing position and thus effectively seal the partially emptied container.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the precise constructional details set forth.

I claim:

1. A stopper for a carboy, bottle, can or like container, which stopper comprises a gripping portion to engage tightly the mouth of the container, and a resilient sealing skirt of such shape and dimensions as to be adapted to be folded into and out of a position in which it completes the sealing of the mouth of the container, which sealing skirt has an imperforate base to overlie the mouth of the container, said gripping portion being attached to the base of the sealing skirt around a'portion only of its periphery, the unattached portion of the periphery of the gripping portion affording between it and the said base a pouring aperture in a position to be overlain by the sealing skirt when the latter is folded downwardly relatively to said base into sealing position, and those edges of the gripping portion and of the said base which afford between them the pouring aperture lying in contact with each other when the sealing skirt is in sealing position and being shaped: to form a continuous interengaging lip and groove which are held pressed together by the sealing skirt.

2. A stopper for a carboy, bottle, can or like container, which stopper comprises a plug to engage tightly the inside of the mouth of the container, and a resilient sealing skirt of such shape and dimensions as to be adapted to be folded into and out of a position in which it completes the sealing of the mouth of the container, which sealing skirt has an imperforate base to overlie the mouth of the container and which plug is tubular with its lower end opening into the interior of the container and with its upper end open over a portion of its area to constitute a pouring aperture and covered as to the remainder of the area by a transverse wall attached to the base of the sealing skirt by a short solid neck centrally situated with respect to said base, which pouring aperture is located in a position to be overlain by the sealing skirt when the latter is folded downwardly relatively to said base into sealing position.

3. A stopper for containers of the character described, comprising a gripping portion adapted to tightly engage the mouth of the container and provided with a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing cap attached to said gripping portion and adapted to be folded into and out of a position in which it completely seals the mouth of the container, said sealing cap having an imperforate base overlying the mouth of the container and said pouring aperture when the cap is in sealing position, and a skirt portion adapted to grip and form a seal with the exterior of the container mouth when pulled downwardly about said mouth.

4. A stopper for containers of the character described, comprising a gripping portion adapted to tightly engage the mouth of the container and provided with a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing cap attached to said gripping portion and adapted to be folded into and out of a position in which it completely seals the mouth of the container, said sealing cap having an imperforate base overlying the mouth of the container and said pouring aperture when the cap is in sealing position, and a skirt portion adapted to grip and form a seal with the exterior of the container mouth when pulled downwardly about said mouth, said skirt when pulled from about the mouth of the container into an upstanding position enabling the base to be partially lifted from above the pouring aperture.

5, A stopper for containers of the character described, comprising a tubular gripping portion of such shape, dimensions and stiffness as to tightly engage the inside of a mouth of a container and of such resiliency as alternatively to extend completely around and tightly engage the outside of a smaller mouth of a different container, said gripping portion having a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing cap attached to said gripping portion and adapted to be folded into and described, comprising a gripping portion adapted to tightly engage the mouth of the container and provided with a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing cap attached to said gripping portion and adapted to be folded into and out of a position in tainer, said sealing cap having an imperforate base overlying the mouth of the container and said pouring aperture when the cap is in sealing position, and a skirt portion adapted to grip and form a seal with the exterior of the container mouth when pulled downwardly about said mouth, the attachment of the cap to the gripping portion being between the base of the cap and the upper periphery of the gripping portion and extending only partially around the upper periphery of the gripping portion so that the base of the cap can be partially lifted to uncover the pouring aperture.

'7. A stopper for containers of the character described, comprising a gripping portion adapted to tightly engage the mouth of the container and provided with a pouring aperture, and a resilient sealing cap attached to said gripping portion and adapted to be folded into and out of a position in which it completely seals the mouth of the container, said sealing cap having an imperforate base overlying the mouth of the container and said pouring aperture when the cap is in sealing positiomand a skirt portion adapted to grip and form a seal with the exterior of the container mouth when pulled downwardly about said mouth, and said base having a chord-like groove in the under surface thereof to facilitate uncovering of the pouring aperture.

WILLIAM SIMON FREEMAN. I

, which it completely seals the mouth of the con- 

